Driving mechanism and clutch



June 18, 1935. E. E. wEMP DRIVING MEcHANIsM AND cLUTH Fled Feb. 4, 19312 Sheets-Sheet 1 A TTORNEYS.

June 18, 1935. E. E. wEMP DRIVNG MECHANISM AND CLUTCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2'Filed Feb. 4, 1951 INVENToR. FRA/E57' f. WEMP IgM/wf r vATToRMsx/sautomotive vehicles. Y,

Patented `lune 18', 1935 UNITE 'This invention has enseo 1];[7 n'DRIVING Meenemen mineerder;

y ErnestE. WemmiDytl'nit-lllich y Appunti@ February 4, lesiiserinmi.meer t :i4 emma f el.;.ie2i-4-in.

no de with driving meenan-S-m 'for tr'ansnttine power from driving 5to'driven Partisan-d has' Special reference 1Q. mechanism vand clutcharrangement useiulgin In accordance with the invention clutch perl5'comprising both driving "and 'driven vprillV4 may advantageously be .arr

'aneedas a ,on adriving member, which member in the present .dis-

closure happens to be the crankfshaft o f .an engine.` A driven'shaftisemployede 4and the ar.- rangement-,may be such that the rdriven ',shetdoes not supporter carry the driven clut'clji membei. In carrying outthis arrangermer.it a oneway drive connection is advantageously,employed betweenv the driven Vshaft and the driven `lilllllllllmember'.

More speciiically, the .clutch parts, including driving and driven members, may =be .assembled upon .the crank-shaftfof an automobile'engine, thus to serve not only as clulihpartsbiit falso to eiec't a flywheel actionforthe engine, These clutch parts may beauxiliary to a. .nyWheelper se, else they inay loe utilized as @the Sole fly wheel elementof the engine. fDiiey .to theQnStr-.lltgn contemplated polar inertia (ifthe vKdriilen s halfts maintained at a substantial minimum vby reason ofnot carrying parts,

such as 'for ,exampledriyen clutch parts extending acensiderableditaillce radially outward of the @X194 center. ',Tlie construction aiords'simplified vehicle.eperatynpar@A tieulerly ,iii regard,te" .Shifting gears es .the-bluish' engagement and disengagement may he'effected by accelerating or decelerating`-the engine, respectively; andalso by the employment'of thenyer running drive connectionorQne-waydriyegcone nection which permits ing action; In other tineV geen"shifting leve anyone Who drives an accomplished Without of thegcail'edtree Wheel.- y\l/Qids,' the movements Qi r, whehiis' appreciatedautomotive ivehicle, maybe any manual ,clutch vvCentral savefor lmerelycausing engine'deceleration;

The driven 'jshaft yand eoiiie'eiits .eeseeieted parte maybe assembled'as a unit independer!t1yV pf the. f' driven clutch member .whichV is4assernliled with the driving clutch parts. The .inventiqrigwll bebetter understood by referencev to the agcomf penyine diewviiies andfellewing detailed desem tion z Fig. 1 is the present invention. Fig. 2is asectional line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

FigfSis a more or 1e a sectional view taken through allllh and ydriveconstruction made in aeordanee'yyiti Viewtakeneiibstantiallfwn ssdiagrannnaticviewiiiusl inthe drawiiige'. the .,enderextensiee li. shaftQian engine visillustrated',atl having 'e Qriverr'shaftls she-what 3,its endteilig igen nailed in 'bearing 41111' the end elf the Menke ShaftJAS .hee already' er'vefa's 'die ,any ily when Q; thegeneine; Qne O fSmellv nerts'eemprises a' member 5 secured 'to the Crank-.Shaft blyfleepScrews taken" inte, the

shouilderibeiwe ,parte il and 2er-the shafts' Thief r1 5 ,maybesheped Sees te pro.- vicie e* parti'il `eXterldi.ne' generally in' a' feletiel"dreetionandlef. requisite dimension ai@ efllyr The Qllefmest partei, the,member may bef-flanged. as ateier'eerryiee eteethedririe tliuee'lllyeentrel'led elements suer; 'es weights in, ASY ,shownin Fie.: 2'thereare four ef weighteg. the' same 4'being segmentall in shape, TheeeWeights ere eerriedby the member Ai, 'For this purpose' 'thecircumferential portions 11 me? be trolli'ael.v *Aseshown "herein,vsuch-wineans comprises 4 al plateior lsheet metal member +521' attachedsube stantially..centrally :to ith'e depressed Ipant 1LI'ltzlyrivatsforwrtheilike r1.6', iandfattached atfeach-'end' ifirtudftlbyrmensoi .capiscrews IJ. The plates are re9netrnctei :5o esto halte anoverall'gilength betweerieenters-fef rf erede and stuusflaggrearerthanetne :Straight 1in Stange-center ftp-center,`

Dleieeas shown,- ,ilieseipleteeerheetrteel meme berSarepreierebly-ef a@rmermet-.ure a A muy nold'the. .weights radiallyfinwerd so that theypseat unen .the 'partllneiiehfrnemel neste tionith eis aeleareneegleetween .the Outeriieeee 'of .ereiehie andirietienwmeteriai-20 carried byadltiverimemlier, L' y v 'This 'drivenmemben'shown generally at 2I;

d ingr 1 The elutehine action .may be effefeted byieenf y y'eereilgetine -fftn that in this movement there is a slight change may beadvantageously in the shape of a dished member having a circumferentialpart 22 carrying the facing material 2U and provided with a reinforcingflange 23, the purpose of which will presently appear. The member 2| isjournaled upon the end ofV the crank-shaft and this may be accomplishedthrough the means of an antifriction bearing 24 supporting the member 2|through a hub part 25 fitting over the bearing. It maybe held inassembled position by means of a screw .threadednut 26.011 the end ofthe crank-shaft lockedfby a suitable locking spring 21. The member 2| aswell as the bearing may be held normally rearwardly against nut 26 'by'coil spring 28. The member 2| may also carry facing material 29positioned so as to engage the weights I0, but normally spaced fromtheweights by reason of the action of spring 28. 1

The assembly just described comprises the driving and driven clutchmembers which at thesame time serves as an engine fly wheel. The drivingyclutch members consist of the plate 5, the centrifugal weights I0 andother associated parts, whereas the driven clutch' member'comprises themember 42|;V When the engine is running the driving parts of the clutchmechanism serve as any wheel and as soon as the R. P. M. is high enoughthe weights are thrown out centrifugally against the action ofthe springplates l5 thus causing the vweights toengage the friction material 20,setting into motion the driven member 2 l, so that at this time bothdriving and driven parts serve ay wheel function. The arrangement isample, this may be at about 600 R. P. M. In this action the plates |5flex as the weights move out centrifugally. It will be appreciated thatthe studs |3 must move in a straight line due vto the fact that theweights are rigid `with the result in the distance center to centerbetween the rivets |6 and cap screws' Il. Inv other words, the cap screwcannot .move in an arc around the rivets as they are held to move in astraight line. The corrugated formation of the plates permits the sametoextend or compress to take careof this differential,` e

`The driven shaft 3 is rotated by means of the driven member 2| and thisis preferably accomplished through an overrunning'clutch or driveconnection." For this purpose there is an inner clutch member 30 securedto the shaft 3 as by means Iofaspline connection as shown, having acircumferential shoulder 3|; and an outer member comprising spaced parts32 and 33 `with an in-v termediate Vvring member 34 in` alignment withshoulder` 3|,fand between ring V34 and shoulder;`3| are clutch rollersV35. ,This overrunning uclutchconstruction in its general form isappreciated 'by those skilled in 4the'art; suffice tosaythatthespaceprovided for roller 35 is of tapering .form afforded by camsurfaceseither on ring. orshoulder 3|, or both, so that the rollers zare jammedbetween the two' when the member 2|, the purpose of which will presentlyappear.

The member of the overrunning clutch, which is attached directly to thepart 2|, is designed to be directly connected to shaft 3 when and ifdesired. For this purpose part 32 has a hub like extension with internalteeth 45. A collar 46 is splined to the shaft 3 having external teeth41. This collar 46 is reciprocable upon the shaft 3, and this may beaccomplished through the means of an outer member 50 between which andthe collar 46 is an anti-friction bearing 5|, the outer member 5U havinga stud 52 engaged in the forked end of an arm 53 carried by rock-shaft54. On the rock-shaft 54 is a control element which is shown herein asin the form of a foot .lever 55. This foot lever may take three posiheldby a spring or the like 56. By depressing the lever with the foot thecollar 46 is moved so that the teeth 45 and 4l come into engagement asshown in position 2 of Fig. 3. The normalopen position is shown in Fig.3. If it is desirableto keep the teeth in engagement the lever may belatched'in position two. This may be accomplished by any suitable means,as for example, a pivoted foot pad having a hook 6| designed `tc behooked behind a latch 62. Positions one and two are shown in Fig. 3. Thethird position is merely that of the lever being further depressed. Theultimate result of this is to cause friction facing 29 to engage theweights I0. The manner and purpose of which will soon appear.

In considering the operation of the construction it will be assumed thatshaft 3 is a shaft entering a gear shifting transmission of anautomotive vehicle. Now with the engine slowly rotating, as for exampleless than 600 R. P. M., the weights I0 are retracted and the member 2|is not rotated with the result that the shaft 3 does not rotate. Anoperator may now shift the gear shifting lever into low gear position.Upon acceleration of the' engine the weights I0 effect clutch engagementand the shaft 3 is driven through the overrunning clutch and the vehiclegets under way. The engine may now be decelerated to disengage theclutching action by reason ofthe spring plates l5 pulling thecentrifugal weights `||l radially inward, and the gear shifting levermay be moved into second gear. The engine may be again acceleratedeffecting clutch engagement and an increase in speed of the vehicle,then again decelerated causing a declutching action, and the gearshifting lever moved into third or high gear position. Any number ofspeedsV may be provided in the transmission. Assuming that the thirdgear is the high or direct drive, the engine may now be acceleratedwhich causes a clutch engagement and the vehicle is in normal roadoperation. Thus it will be obvious that in operating such a vehicle theoperator is not required to throw out the clutch as this isautomatically done by engine deceleration; all the operator needs to dois to accelerate and decelerate his engine and shift the gears in timedrelation thereto. It will be noted that the polar inertia of the drivenshaft 3 is low, as it is free to overrun the plate 2|, and all the partsdirectly carried by the driven shaft are located close to its axialcenter so that its polar inertia isfheld to minimum. This furtherfacilitates gear shifting, for when the driven shaft 3 is freed byclutch'disengagement it decelerates rapidly.

vWith the overrunning clutch functioning, the vehicle can overrun theengine as this is permitacca-25o engine directly ,connected tothevdriven vshaft 3,

cutting out the overrunning clutchso that the engine compressionmay beutilized/for. its brak? ing action. To do this thel operator-merelydepresses rthe leverand'catches the hook 5l on latch 62 vto engage teeth45 and '41.. Accordingly, there is a direct drive connectionbetweenshaft 3 andfthedriven member of the clutch 2l. `In this positiontheengine will serve as a brake for thev vehicle until such time Vasengine speed is suiiciently lowA to cause thedeclutching action, f butat this -lowspeed the vehicle is onlyt'raveling slowly and there issubstantially ,no further need for employing' the engine as' a' brake.Also atths llow engine speed there is very little brak, ingaction bytheengine.

There, are'times when it is either 'desirablefor necessary to start theengine by'pushing or tow-y ing the vehicle. This could not be y,donewith the present structure, because clutch engagement depends uponengine rotation, without further provisionfor establishing a driveconnection between shaft 3 and the drivingv clutch parts. provision ofthis resides in some of thestructure f abovedescribed and operates asfollows? Upon depressing the lever 55 further thanithat shown inposition 2 in Fig. 3,' the collarl 46', morey particularly its end,strikes the hub 3l), more particularly its face 66 and pushes'memberllaxially. This causes the extension 43 to 'engage the driven member 2Landurge's it axially against the action of spring 28, slightlycompressing the spring. The friction material 29 cornes into frictioncontact with ther "centrifugal weights l0; there'may be a minimumA ofclearance between the weights I0 and the part 5so that the reaction tothe shifting pressure is exerted byl the` plate 5 and in turn by the`engine crank-shaf=t I towhich the plate 5 is attached. This clutchingaction is effected by direct lpower application by the' operator.

Itl will lbe noted that both the driving and" driven clutch elementsareassembl'ed upon the drive shaft and that the driven shaft andassociated parts may be separatelyl assembledincluding the plate 4l),'and when inposition may be mounted to the driven clutch member'by the`cap screws 42. In the event 'that the driven shaft and vitsyassociatedparts` are disassembled, this is accomplished by taking out theycap-screws'fZ leaving the driving and driven clutch parts mounted -uponthe engine. Thus even with the shaft 3 disassembled the engine can beoperated in its usual manner, there being no danger of throwing theweights off as the plate 3l`is always f in'v position. In this regard.it may bepointed out that the fiange 23 is provided to give strength tothe'part 22 so that it will not flex orbend as the weights are thrownoutwardly against it. Also it will' be noted that the plate or ring wisf ofV relatively thin stock, preferably of steel and it is capable' of asmall amount of flexing. In assembling the driven shaft 3 and itsassociated parts to the engine crankshaft andlits associ` atedV parts,perfect alignment Yis difficult so that some times the driven shaft 3and the crankshaft' l arey slightly out of alignment. This is taken careor by the flexibility of the member 49. In a structure of this kindthe'driven clutch parts may be balanced either alone or with the engineand the shaft 3 and its associated parts may be Thev ' quate R; P.A M.of the shaft, a driven shaft, means" connecting the driven clutch member,and'd-rifven* c 3 separately,balancedawith 'the resultl thatv .when nalasser'n'bly isfmade1- all parts' are balanced-fand centeredm.;v A y 1Itisy importantto note, that the: lever 5'5,whileit.-advantageouslyis'locatedin the position of the 335 usual clutchpedal, -is not, `inany proper se'r'ise of the. word, 'a clutch pedal.vvIt isnot operatedtier-l ing'g'ear vshifting-bpera'tioIi and plays novpartin the 7operation` ofr the:V centrifugal clutch. This pedalmay-"only be used occasionally or rarely 'te 1%S lock out theoverrunning clutch depending 'upon the desires` o f theparticularioperator or condi'- tionsunder' which it is operated, andrare indeedv will be its .furtherr movement lto engage .friction 'Hmateriau ze with the weights m` asthis would only lH5- occur 'when itisdesirable 'or necessary toist'art thev enginebyfmoveinent of fthevehicle. Itf'will bei appreciated' that it is optional with theA opv`eratorto have-the overrunning clutchfunctioning' or locked "out and thatgearshifting may ybe acfcomplished in th'e manner above described underfeither condition.- f

Iclaimzv Y 1. The combination of the crank-shaft or the like of vanengine, a driving clutch member on the shaft rotating therewith, a`driven clutch member journaled on the shaft, centrifugally controlled: 4means carried by the'iirs-t clutch member vz td'apted Y c to engagefthedriven clutch member'upon adel shaft, an overrunning'clut'chin saidmeans; and control-ineansfor locking out the overrimnin'g clutch and for'effecting driving 'engagementfbei tween therst mentioned Vclutchmembers wherebyjdriving reffort may be transmitted from; th'e drivenshaft to the engine shaft.

2. The combination of the crank-shaft orf the.y like,of'an'engine, aclutch member'on thejfs'ii'a'ft'4 rotating therewith, a driven clutchmembervr ju" naled on* the shaft, centrifugally controlled devicescarried-bythe-first clutch member adapted kto engage the driven clutchmember upon adequate R. P. M. of the shaft,jaj'driven shaft, means'con-Hnecting the driven yclutch member Aand driven shaft, said means beingaxially shiftable upon the drivenshaft, an overrunning clutch in saidmeans,l

control means axially shiftable on the shaft and e means to lock ont'theoverrunningclutch,"s'aid'i01a movable'intofengagement'withthe firstmentioned' control means :being shiftableto axiallyshift said firstrmentioned' means, and meansassociated with'the first means-,and drivenclutch member for v 'shifting the driven `clutch memberk intofritionalengagement with the first mentioned clutch member. f y3. Thecombinatonof a crank-shaft or theV like" of an engine, a drivingclutcnmember" mounted on the shaft to rotate therewithgadriven clutch memberljournaled on the shaft andaxially reciprocable thereon; meansforholding the driven clutch memberY at one end of its reciprocabl'emovement, centrifugally controlled means onv the driving Y"clutchAmember for effecting clutching 65,., Y

engagement' between the driving and driven cltch members upon rotationof the shaft, and; means for shifting 4the driven clutch-.;memberI alongthe shaft for effecting clutchingengagement vbetween the driving anddriven membersioi independent of thecentrifugally controlledmeans..

4. The combination of a'crank-shaft or the like on the shaft to rotatetherewith, a driven clutch member journaled on the shaft and axiallyrerMI ciprocable thereon,` spring means for holding the driven clutch-member at one end of its reciprocable movement, centrifugallycontrolled means onthe driving'clutch member for effecting clutchingyengagement between the driving and driven clutch members-upon rotationof the shaft, and means forshifting the driven clutch :member along theshaft ,for` effectingV clutching engagement between the driving anddriven members independent of the centrifugally controlled means. l. 5.l'Ilhe combination `of the crank-shaft or'the like ,of an engine, adrivinglclutch member secured thereto, a driven clutch member journaledthereon, centrifugally controlled clutch elements carried by the drivingmember for engaging the driven member on adequate shaft rotation, saiddriven clutch member being axiallyA shiftable, a driven; shaft, meanscomprising an overrunning clutch, axially shiftable upon the drivenshaft and .f connecting the driven shaft 4and driven clutch member,control means on the driven shaft and axially shiftable thereon,interengaging teeth upon part of the overrunning clutch and controlmeans for locking out the overrunning clutch, and

; interengaging abutments on` the control means and overrunning clutchfor shifting the overrunning clutch and the driven clutch member, andclutch facing material for establishing a clutching engagement betweendriving and driven clutch members upon axial shifting of thedrivenclutch member.- w e 6. The combination of a crank-shaft or the like ofaneengine, driving and driven clutch members on the `crank-shaft,centrifugal means for estab- I lishing clutch engagement, a drivenshaft, an

overrunning clutch between the driven clutch member and the drivenshaft, facing material between the driving and `driven clutch membersadapted for engagement independent of the centrifugal means, a controlelement axially shiftable on the driven shaft out of engagement with theoverrunning clutch in one position, means for moving the control elementintoengagement with the overrunning clutchto lock out the overrunningclutch, and means .for holding the control element in this position. e f,A

, 7.The combination of a' crank-shaft or the like of an engine, drivingand driven clutch members on the crank-shaft,centrifugal means forestablishingk clutch engagement, a driven shaft,

Ian overrunning clutch between the driven'clutch member and thedrivenshaft, facing `material between the ydriving andA driven clutchmembers adapted for engagement independent of the .centrifugalmeans, acontrol element axiallyshiftable onthe driven shaft out of engagementwith the overrunning clutch in one position, means for moving thecontrol element into engagement with bers connecting the weights andclutch member.

9. In a clutch, a clutch member shaped to provide a circumferentialoffset, segmental centrifugally controlled weights positioned adjacentthe offset, and a flexible corrugated sheet metal plate for supportingeach weight and rigidly attached to the clutch lmember and weight.

10. In a clutch, a clutch member shaped to provide a circumferentialoffset, segmental centrifugally controlled weights positioned adjacentthe, l()

offset, and a flexible corrugated sheet metal plate for supporting eachweight and rigidly attached to the clutch member and weight, said sheetmetal members being each disposed substantially on a chord of thecircumferential offset. v

11. In a clutch, a clutch member shaped to provide axially extendingparts, segmental weights located radiallyioutward of said parts, saidparts having apertures, lugs secured tothe weights and extendinginwardly through the apertures, and a flexible corrugated sheet metalmember for each weight rigidly attached to the axially extending portionand lugs.

12. In a clutch, a clutch member shaped to provide axiallyextendingparts, segmental weights located radially outward of said parts, saidparts having apertures, lugsA secured to the Weights and extendinginwardly throughvthe apertures, and a flexible corrugated sheet metalmember for each weight rigidly attached to the axially extending portionand lugs, said sheet fmetal members being exible and extensive to permitthe weights to move radially outward by centrifugal action and servingnormally to hold the weights radially inward substantially seating uponthe axially extending parts.

13. In a clutch, a driving member, a driven member, a segmental Weightshiftable radially by centrifugal force to engage the members, means forsupportingthe weight comprising sheet metal stock positioned radiallyinwardly of the weight and extending in a direction substantially atright angles to the shifting movement of the weight, means securingthesheet metal stock to one of the members at a point substantially on aradial line passing through the center of the segment, means securingthe opposite ends of the sheet metal stock to the segmental weight, saidsheet metal stock being corrugated between the first mentioned securingmeans and both of its ends i with the corrugations extendingtransversely.

14. In a clutch, a driving membeiya driven member, a segmental weightshiftable radially by centrifugal force to engage the members, means forsupporting the weight comprising sheet metal stock positioned radiallyinwardly of the weight and extending in a direction substantially atright angles to the shifting movement of the weight, means securing thesheet metal stock to one of the members at a point substantially on aradial line passing through the center of the segment, means securingthe opposite ends of the sheet metal stock to the segmental weight, saidsheet metal stock being corrugated between the rst mentioned securingmeans andr both of the ends with the corrugations extendingtransversely, said sheet metal stock being of spring metal and servingto hold the segmental weight normally radially inward.

. ERNEST E. WEMP.

